


Re: Windows 95

by brightabandon



Category: Windows 95 Tips
Genre: Epistolary, Gen, Horror
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-06-22
Updated: 2020-06-22
Packaged: 2021-03-03 23:34:36
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,851
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24853906
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/brightabandon/pseuds/brightabandon
Summary: In June 1995, an enthusiastic Microsoft fan tries the preview version of their newest operating system.
Comments: 15
Kudos: 43
Collections: Turing Fest 2020





	Re: Windows 95

**Author's Note:**

  * For [primeideal](https://archiveofourown.org/users/primeideal/gifts).



To: mailinglist@microsoftfanatics.net  
Subject: Windows 95 preview  
From: "Kevin Reed" <kreed71@aol.com>  
Date: Fri, 9 June 95 

Hi everybody, 

Just installed the preview build of Windows 95 and thought I'd share some  
first impressions. The install process was pretty smooth--took a few hours, but  
it detected all my peripherals right out of the box and I didn't have to install  
any drivers, which is a first--and I'm liking the TaskBar and the Start menu.  
Also, I tried to crash it by opening and closing Word, and I'm pleased to report  
that nothing happened, even after a solid ten minutes of that:) 

The experience as a whole just feels a little nicer than Windows 3.1. In fact,  
I know it's too soon for a fair comparison but I think 95 has a real chance of  
unseating 3.1 as Microsoft's most popular operating system. 

This is a pretty minor issue, but does anyone know how to disable the Welcome  
popup? I unchecked "Show this Welcome Screen next time you start Windows", but  
it's showing up every time I boot up the machine. 

Thanks in advance! 

Kevin Reed 

* * *

To: mailinglist@microsoftfanatics.net  
Subject: Re: Windows 95 preview  
From: <jeff@microsoftfanatics.net> (jeffrey nash)  
Date: Fri, 9 June 95  
CC: kreed71@aol.com 

Kevin-- 

I had the same problem. Try deleting the Help directory (should be in  
C:\Windows). 

\--jeff 

* * *

To: mailinglist@microsoftfanatics.net  
Subject: Re: Windows 95 preview  
From: "Kevin Reed" <kreed71@aol.com>  
Date: Fri, 9 June 95  
CC: jeff@microsoftfanatics.net 

Thanks Jeff, I think that did the trick! 

Kevin Reed 

* * *

To: mailinglist@microsoftfanatics.net  
Subject: Re: Windows 95 preview  
From: <microsoftkills@microsoftkills.edu>  
Date: Fri, 9 June 95  
CC: kreed71@aol.com 

Only an idiot would use Micro$oft Windoze. The only good features it has are  
COPIED from Mac OS! Dollar-Bill Gate$ is a liar who STOLE Steve Jobs's ideas  
and STEALS the money of idiots like you!! 

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~ 

xXxmacloverjimxXx 

* * *

To: mailinglist@microsoftfanatics.net  
Subject: Re: Windows 95 preview  
From: "Thomas Boyd" <thomas.boyd@aol.com>  
Date: Sat, 10 June 95  
CC: kreed71@aol.com 

Kevin Reed wrote 

> The experience as a whole just feels a little nicer than Windows 3.1 did. 

Sorry, but I'm going to have to disagree with you on this one. I spent a week  
using win95 when the preview build first came out and it was a nightmare. It  
constantly crashed, it had some bug I couldn't figure out that made the mouse  
stop working half the time, and when I tried to uninstall it it _bricked_ my  
computer. I opened up the case and the motherboard was physically fried. Stay  
far, far away from Windows 95. 

* * *

To: mailinglist@microsoftfanatics.net  
Subject: Update on Windows 95 Preview  
From: "Kevin Reed" <kreed71@aol.com>  
Date: Tue, 13 June 95 

Hi again everyone, 

After using '95 for a few days, I'm afraid I have to change my mind about it  
being an improvement over 3.1. The official release might be better, but this  
version is just way too full of little annoyances to be worth using as-is. 

For starters, it doesn't register when I've inserted a floppy. Normally they  
show up in A: just fine, but when I put one in and try to access it I keep  
getting "Error: there is no disk in the drive. Please insert a disk into drive  
Ⱥ:." I definitely don't have a drive Ⱥ:, and I'm pretty sure that's not even a  
permissible character. Changing the default drive to B: does fix this, but the  
setting doesn't persist across reboots for some reason. 

Also, whenever I forget I deleted the Help directory and click the help button  
anyway, the computer freezes up for a minute, and maybe one time in five it'll  
end up crashing. (Totally my fault for deleting the directory, of course, but  
annoying nonetheless). 

This one just started the other day: the shutdown option in the start menu is  
greyed out so I can't click it, and when I try to force a reboot from the  
command line it just returns an error message that says "Please don't try that  
again". I've been having to just disconnect the power every time I want to turn  
my PC off, and it's an enormous pain. 

I'm still going to try the final version once it comes out, though; I think '95  
could be great if the rough edges were sanded off a bit. 

On another note, I've been thinking of getting a new computer, maybe a ThinkPad.  
Does anyone here have experience with those? In particular, I'm curious how  
portable notebook computers really are, since I like the idea of being able to  
take my PC with me but I don't want to feel like I'm lugging around a backpack  
full of bricks. 

Thanks! 

Kevin Reed 

* * *

To: mailinglist@microsoftfanatics.net  
Subject: Re: Update on Windows 95 Preview  
From: "Kevin Reed" <kreed71@aol.com>  
Date: Tue, 13 June 95  
CC: kreed71@aol.com 

That's pretty strange, Kevin. I've been using win95 since the preview version  
came out, and I haven't had any problems with it. This is probably your fault. 

* * *

To: mailinglist@microsoftfanatics.net  
Subject: Re: Update on Windows 95 Preview  
From: <tim.harnell@penumbra.net>  
Date: Tue, 13 June 95  
CC: kreed71@aol.com 

Hi Kevin, 

I have a ThinkPad 700C and it's pretty portable. I'd say it's about on par with  
a hardcover textbook--not nothing, but definitely not too heavy to carry. It's  
a beast of a machine, too; I can't recommend it enough! 

Let me know if you have any more questions about ThinkPads, or about the  
notebook experience in general--I'm always happy to advise. 

Tim 

* * *

To: mailinglist@microsoftfanatics.net  
Subject: Giving up on Windows 95 preview  
From: "Kevin Reed" <kreed71@aol.com>  
Date: Mon, 19 June 95 

My '95 experience has been getting worse and worse; I think I'm going to have to  
downgrade. I haven't found a fix for any of the issues I mentioned in my last  
message, and now the welcome popup is showing up again every time I start an  
application, even though I haven't done anything to change it since I deleted  
\help. 

I think there's something wrong with the messages on the welcome popup, too.  
When I originally installed '95, the messages were just your standard "You can  
click with the mouse" type pablum, but now they're saying weird shit like  
"Remember the teddy bear you had when you were nine? It remembers you" and "Did  
you ever wonder what your parents did with all those baby teeth?" and just...  
lots of stuff that doesn't make sense. I know it's stupid, but this is honestly  
kind of creeping me out. 

Also, lately my PC's been stalling for a bit when it lists off the peripherals  
at bootup, and saying that it's got a missing device and I should "connect my  
spinal cord to the flesh-to-digital port and try again." It's probably just a  
joke some programmer threw in or something but I swear I can feel my neck  
tingling when the error shows up. 

I'm going to install 3.1 again as soon as I can find the disks, but in the  
meantime, can anyone help with squashing some of these bugs? 

Thank you! 

Kevin Reed 

* * *

To: mailinglist@microsoftfanatics.net  
Subject: Re: Giving up on Windows 95 preview  
From: "Kevin Reed" <kreed71@aol.com>  
Date: Mon, 19 June 95  
CC: kreed71@aol.com 

Heya Kevin, great to hear from another user of Windows 95. It can be a pretty  
wild ride at times, but I wouldn't go back to Windows 3.1 if my life depended on  
it. :) 

The FTD port should be on your computer tower, right next to the power button.  
It's a round opening with a cover that flips up, about an inch wide, you can't  
miss it. There's a cable inside--just pull that out and plug it in, and all  
your problems will go away. 

* * *

To: mailinglist@microsoftfanatics.net  
Subject: Re: Giving up on Windows 95 preview  
From: "Dan Griffin" <danny@uoc.edu>  
Date: Mon, 19 June 95 

unsubscribe 

* * *

To: mailinglist@microsoftfanatics.net  
Subject: Re: Giving up on Windows 95 preview  
From: <jeff@microsoftfanatics.net> (jeffrey nash)  
Date: Mon, 19 June 95  
CC: danny@uoc.edu 

All--

Don't send unsubscribe requests to the main list, please. 

\--jeff 

* * *

To: mailinglist@microsoftfanatics.net  
Subject: Need help with Windows 95  
From: "Kevin Reed" <kreed71@aol.com>  
Date: Fri, 23 June 95 

Is anyone getting this? There doesn't seem to be anything wrong with my  
connection, but I keep getting errors when I try to send things. If you see  
this, please reply--even if it's just another "unsubscribe" I want to know  
somebody's seeing my messages. 

That said, if this goes through I'd really like to hear from someone who has  
experience with Windows 95; I'm kind of at my wits' end, at this point. I'm  
still having all the problems I had before, and I can't get rid of it--I finally  
found the install disks for 3.1, but when I try to downgrade my computer just  
goes back to '95. I reformatted my hard drive the other day and did a clean  
install of 3.1, and then when I rebooted '95 was back. The welcome screen said  
"Did you know? You can click with the mouse." I think it's mocking me. I just  
want someone to help me get some other operating system working, please--I'd  
even take a Macintosh at this point!

In all seriousness, though, this is scaring me. I feel like Windows 95 is...  
taking over my life, or something. And I keep having nightmares about it.

Thank you in advance to anyone who can help me.

Kevin Reed 

* * *

To: mailinglist@microsoftfanatics.net  
Subject: Windows 95  
From: "Kevin Reed" <kreed71@aol.com>  
Date: Wed, 28 June 95 

Greetings, everyone. 

I disavow everything negative I've said about Windows 95. Windows 95 is the  
best program Microsoft has ever put out, and everyone should be using it. I  
love Windows 95. 

If you don't have '95 yet, Microsoft actually just came out with a new program  
that lets you install it over the 'net--how cool is that! Just navigate to the  
URL in the next paragraph, and you, too, can experience how great it is to use  
Windows 95! You're Next! 

Go to 9595959595.win to try Windows 95, if you haven't already. I think you'll  
like it:) 

Kevin Reed 

* * *

To: mailinglist@microsoftfanatics.net  
Subject: Re: Windows 95  
From: <tim.harnell@penumbra.net>  
Date: Wed, 28 June 95  
CC: kreed71@aol.com 

Really glad to hear that, Kevin! Could you give an overview of what fixes you  
ended up implementing? My copy of win95 has actually been having the same  
shutdown issue you described on the 13th, and it's driving me crazy! 

Thanks, 

Tim 

* * *

To: tim.harnell@penumbra.net  
Subject: Mail Delivery Failure Notification  
From: <mailer-daemon@aol.com>  
Date: Wed, 28 June 95 

Your message to kreed71@aol.com could not be delivered. The address you were  
trying to reach does not exist. 


End file.
